Hair grooming device



United States Patent 2,288,299 6/1942 Pileggi Inventors James E. Player2644 Jonesboro Road, Forest Park, Georgia 30050; Terry L. Legan, 3389Wickham Drive, Decatur, Georgia 30032 Appl. No. 767,647

Filed Oct. 15, 1968 Patented Oct. 27, 1970 HAIR GROOMING DEVICE 6Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 132/45, 30/30 Int. Cl A45d 24/36 Field of Search 1 32/45, 45.1,11, 11.2, 17, 123; 30/30, 31

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,900,718 8/1959 BaileyetalABSTRACT: A hair grooming device comprising a comb including a back witha teeth support section and a cutter support section. A plurality ofteeth extend in parallel alignment from the teeth support section, and ahandle is connected at one of its ends to one end of the teeth supportsection. The cutter support section of the back defines a slot along thesurface of the cutter support section which is disposed away from theteeth. A razor blade having a cutting edge and an edge of enlargedthickness is inserted into the slot from one of its ends, by insertingthe enlarged edge of the blade into the slot. A blade guard having aserrated edge is held in juxtaposition with the blade, with theserrations overlapping the sharpened edge of the blade.

mama Oct. 27; 1970' 7 3,536,080

Sheet 1 of 2 James E. Player BY Terry Megan dmnm AT TOR/VEYS INVENTORB.

Patented Oct. 27,1970 I 3,536,080

Sheet g or2 INVENTORB. James E. Player By Terry L. Legan ATmR/vm's HAIRGROOMINGDEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When styling a womans hair,the hair stylist usually uses a procedure where he lifts and straightensthe hair with the use of a comb, grasps a lock of hair with his freehand, places the comb in the hand holding the hair or on a table, andgrasps a cutting instrument, such as a razor, with his first hand andengages the hair with the razor in a cutting stroke. After the desiredamount of cutting has been performed, the hair stylist must discard therazor and retrieve the comb to repeat the process. The styling processis generally cumbersome, primarily due to the fact that the hair sytlistmust use both the comb and the cutting instrument with one hand whilegrasping and holding the hair with the other hand. While various handtechniques can be developed to streamline the styling process, even themost skillful hair stylist finds manipulation of both the cuttinginstrument and the comb a tedious process. Also, the manipulation of thecomb and cutting instrument is one of the most difficult things for aperson to learn when he is first learning the profession.

While various hair grooming devices have been developed which combine acomb and a cutting instrument, none of the devices have been accepted orhave been successful in the hair styling profession since they arecumbersome to manipulate and do not adequately perform their desiredfunctions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Briefly described the present inventioncomprises a hair grooming device which enables the hair stylist to comband cut hair with one tool held in one hand while manipulating the hairof the person being styled with the other hand. The hair grooming deviceincludes a comb which is used to straighten and lift the hair, and arazor blade extending from the back of the comb in a direction oppositefrom the direction of the teeth of a comb. A guard plate having aserrated edge is placed in juxtaposition with the blade of the razorwith the serrations overlapping the cutting edge of the blade, whichexposes the cutting edge of the blade an amount sufficient to allow theblade to cut hair, but prevents larger objects, such as a personsfingers, from being cut.

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a hair groomingdevice which streamlines the procedures of the hair stylist.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hair grooming devicewhich enables the hair stylist to comb and cut hair with a single toolheld in one hand.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive hairgrooming device which is easy and convenient to manipulate, which speedsup the styling function, and which has replaceable parts.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon reading the following specification, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a side elevational view ofthe hair grooming device.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hair grooming device, witha portion of the comb being broken away.

FIG. 3 is an end cross-sectional view of the hair grooming device, takenalong lines 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an end cross-sectional view of a modified form of the hairgrooming device, similar to FIG. 3, but showing the cutting blade andblade guard removed.

FIG. 5 is an end cross-sectional view of another modification of thehair grooming device, similar to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic showing of the manner in which the hair groomingdevice can be utilized.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in more detail tothe drawing, in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout theseveral views, FIG. 1 shows hair grooming device 10 which includes combll, handle 12, and cutting assembly 14. Comb 11 comprises back 15 whichincludes teeth supporting section 16 and cutter support section 18. Aplurality of teeth 19 extend from teeth support section 16 of back 15 inparallel alignment along the length of back 15, with the end ones ofteeth 19 being of enlarged thickness to prevent breakage. Cutter supportsection 18 extends away from teeth support section 16 and teeth 19. Asis shown in FIG. 2, cutter support section 18 is shorter in length thanteeth support section 16 and defines slot 20 which extends throughoutits length and opens through both of its ends and through its topsurface. The walls 21 and 22 of cutter support section 18 are turnedinwardly toward eachother at their top edges to form ribs 23 and 24.Ribs 23 and 24 extend along the entire length of cutter support section18, so that the opening 25 in the top surface of cutter support section18 is narrower than the opening of slot 20 defined between the mainportions of walls 21 and 22.

Cutting blade 26 includes a sharpened cutting edge 28 and a thickenededge or base 29 which is positioned opposite from cutting edge 28. Base29 is of a width and thickness virtually identical to the width andthickness of slot 20, and the thickness of blade 26 is virtuallyidentical to the opening of slot 20 between'ribs 23 and 24. Thus,cutting blade 26 is insertable into slot 20 by sliding it in from eitherend of the slot, with the thickened base 29 fitting into the slot andwith the blade protruding between ribs 23 and 24.

Cutting assembly 14 includes blade guard 30, which comprises plate 31which defines serrations or teeth along one of its edges. Recess 34 ispositioned along the length of plate 31, below teeth 32. Support bar orstrap 35 is connected at its ends to the ends of plate 31. and is spacedaway from the inner surface of recess 34 a distance approximately equalto the thickness of cutter support section 18. Recess 34 is of a depthapproximately equal to the spacing of blade 26 from the side surface ofcomb 11 (FIG. 3). Thus, blade guard 30 is insertable over cutter supportsection 18 so that support bar 35 is positioned on one side of cuttersupport section 18 and plate 31 is positioned on the opposite side.Recess 34 fits over a wall 23 or 24, so that the teeth or serrations 32are in juxtaposition with blade 26. The ridge of recess 34 is arrangedto rest on the top surface of the cutter support section 18 and gaugesthe height of blade guard 30 so that teeth 32 overlap the sharpened edge28 of blade 26 and the cutting edge of the blade is exposed between theprotruding teeth 32. As is shown in FIG. 3, the upper portion 36 ofblade guard 30 is tapered inwardly to a point, so that teeth 32 aresubstantially pointed.

As is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the configuration of slot 20 can bevaried. For instance, FIG. 4 shows a slot 200 which is defined bytapered walls 21a and 22a. The tapered walls function to grip thethickened base '29 of blade 26, thus obviating the necessity of ribs 23and 24. As is shown in FIG. 5, only one rib 24 is necessary to positionand retain a blade 26 within slot 20b.

As is shown in FIG. 6, hair grooming device 10 will normally be utilizedwith blade guard 30 oriented toward the direction of the cutting stroke.This positions blade guard 30 generally above the hair and toward thehand of the hair stylist that is grasping the hair of the person beingstyled. Also, the entire opposite surface of blade 26 which protrudesfrom cutter support section 18 is available to perform the cuttingfunction. Thus, the presence of blade guard 30 only on one side of blade26 is such that the entire cutting edge 28 is virtually unencumbered byblade guard 30, yet it is virtually impossible to cut the hand of theoperator that is grasping the hair.

When manipulating the hair grooming instrument, the hair stylist is ableto rotate the instrument in his hand by merely manipulating his fingers,to change the instrument from a combing tool to a cutting tool, and viceversa. The operator can use the comb to lift and straighten the hair,and then rotate the instrument in his hand to bring the cutting bladeinto a position where it can be used to cut the hair. Blade guard 30 isconstructed so that it can be positioned adjacent either side of blade26, so that when the operator wants to use his right hand to manipulatethe hair grooming device, blade guard 30 can be inserted over the uppersurface of the cutting blade, and when changing hands, blade guard 30can be reversed, so that it is repositioned on the upper surface, asshown in FIG. 6. Furthermore, in the event that the hair stylist wishesto utilize the hair grooming device without blade guard 30, the bladeguard can be easily removed without impairing or destroying the functionof the device When a sharper blade is needed, the blade can be removedby sliding it out through the end of slot 20, and a new blade can beinserted.

Recess 34 of blade guard 30 is located and dimensioned so that the endsof teeth 32 will protrude a predetermined distance above the cuttingedge 28 of a standard blade 26. Thus, the hair stylist can rapidlyinsert blade guard 30 over blade 26 with little attention and withassurance that teeth 32 will be properly located.

While this invention has been described in detail with particularreference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood thatvariations and modifications can be efi'ected within the spirit andscope of the invention as described hereinbefore and as defined in theappended claims.

We claim:

1. A hair grooming device comprising a comb including a back with ateeth supporting section and a cutter supporting section, a plurality ofteeth extending in parallel alignment from said teeth supporting sectionand a handle connected to one end of said teeth supporting section, saidcutter support ing section defining a slot extending from its ends alongits length and opening along the surface of the cutter support sectionpositioned away from the teeth, the opening of said slot being smallerat the surface of said cutter support section than internally of saidcutter support section, a cutter member including a blade having acutting edge and an edge of enlarged thickness, the thicker edge beingreceived in the slot of the cutter supporting section of said backthrough one of the ends of said slot and a blade guard plate defining aserrated edge and including retaining means positioning the blade guardplate in juxtaposition with the blade and with the serrations of theserrated edge overlapping the cutting edge of the blade.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a barspaced from said. blade guard plate and fastened at its ends to saidblade guard plate in such a manner that a space is defined between saidbar and said blade guard plate which conforms to the size and shape ofthe cutter supporting section of said back.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said blade guard plate includes aridge arranged to rest on the top surface of the cutter support sectionof said back.

4. A hair grooming device comprising a comb including a back, aplurality of teeth extending in parallel alignment from said back and ahandle connected to one end of said back, said back including a pair ofspaced apart walls extending away from said teeth and defining an openended slot extending along the length of said back and opening at theouter edges of said spaced apart walls away from said teeth, the widthof said slot being narrower at the outer edges of said spaced apartwalls than inwardly from the edges of said spaced apart walls, a cuttingblade between said spaced apart walls and including a cutting edge andan edge of enlarged thickness, said edge of enlarged thickness being inthe wider portion of said slot from an end of said slot with saidcutting blade extending through and beyond the narrower portion of saidslot, a blade guard over said cutting blade and said spaced apart wallsand comprising a plate for placement in juxtaposition with one side ofsaid blade and including a plurality of teeth projecting beyond thecutting edge of said blade, a recess formed in said plate for receivingone of said spaced apart walls, and an elongated suprt bar spaced fromand connected at its ends to said late or placement along the other ofsaid spaced apart wa s to secure said blade from lateral or verticaldisplacement.

5. The hair grooming device of claim 4 and wherein the ends of saidelongated support bar are turned toward said plate and fit about theends of said spaced apart walls and confine said cutting blade in saidslot.

6. The hair grooming device of claim 4 and wherein the recess of saidplate defines a ridge arranged torest on the top surface of one of saidspaced apart walls.

